Five major resorts in the Dominican Republic have closed in the wake of Hurricane Fiona. 

Hyatt’s flagship Dominican Republic resorts, the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana, both managed by Playa Hotels and Resorts, are closing “for a period of time,” the company said. 

Also closing are Playa’s Hilton La Romana Family, Hilton La Romana Adult and the Sanctuary Cap Cana resort. 

The closures will “expedite necessary clean-up and repair work as a result of Hurricane Fiona,” Playa said in a statement. 

The move came after “thorough evaluations of the state of the Playa Hotels and Resorts properties affected by Hurricane Fiona in the Dominican Republic.”

The resorts are expected to reopen “during the fourth quarter of 2022,” the company said. 

The reopening dates include Nov. 1 for the Hilton La Romana Family; Nov. 15 for the Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana; Nov. 20 for the Hilton La Romana Adult; Dec. 6 for the Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana and Jan. 20, 2023 for the Sanctuary Cap Cana. 

In a statement, Playa said the company “carries property and business interruption insurance and is currently working with its insurance partners to reopen the Hyatt Ziva & Zilara Cap Cana and the Hilton La Romana in a timely manner.”

Playa is one of the leading owners and operators of all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic. 

For more, visit Playa. 

The post Five Top Dominican Republic Resorts Close for Hurricane Repairs  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

Kempinski has added a Cancun resort to its expanding Caribbean portfolio, Caribbean Journal has learned.

The Swiss luxury brand, which already has Caribbean hotels in Cuba and Dominica, has taken over management of the former Ritz-Carlton, Cancun. 

For now, the hotel is called the Grand Hotel Cancun and managed by Kempinski during what will be a several-month-long transition period. 

Beginning at the end of this year, the hotel will be fully operated as the Kempinski Hotel Cancun. 

It’s a new luxury brand for what has been the most popular destination in the wider Caribbean Basin since the onset of the pandemic, one that continues to eclipse what had been record highs before the pandemic.

““To enter the North American territory with our very first property there and to extend our footprint in this crucial market is an outstanding opportunity for Kempinski,” said Bernold Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer of Kempinski Group and Chairman of the Management Board of Kempinski. “Cancun is a top vacation destination for guests from The Americas,  who also make up a good proportion of our guests in the rest of the world as well as for Europeans.”

Kempinski first entered the Caribbean market with its Gran Hotel Manzana in the heart of Old Havana back in 2017, followed by the debut of the Cabrits Kempinski Resort Dominica in 2019. (The company has another resort in development in Cuba).

The hotel has 315 rooms and 48 suites, all with private balcony or terraces. That’s along with eight dining concepts, a club lounge, two swimming pools, a spa and a tennis center, among other amenities. 

”We are very excited about this new partnership in which Kempinski Hotels will bring a new level of luxury and service to our iconic resort”, adds Claudia Molina Basteris, Chief Executive Officer Grupo Inmobiliario Mosa, which owns the property. 

“In addition to our presence in Cuba and Dominica, this will be another outstanding option for our esteemed guests to spend their holidays with us in the Caribbean,” Schroeder said.

The hotel is about 25 minutes from Cancun International Airport, within walking distance of Cancun’s La Isla Shopping Village and the Kukulcan Plaza. 

“During a three-month transitional period, we will ensure that we implement our Kempinski DNA in the operation of this outstanding beach hotel and that we extend our brand recognition by delivering the impeccable service and quality Kempinski is renowned for,” Schroeder said. 

The post Kempinski’s Newest Caribbean Resort Is In Cancun  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

It was always one of the most beautiful golf courses in the Caribbean: the Greg Norman-designed 18-hole course in Anguilla. 

But the course, and its adjoining CuisinArt Resort, never really made it into the list of great golf destinations in the hemisphere — not on the level of the Casa de Campos of the world.

And that was always a shame, because the course, with a large campus and an astonishing view of St Martin, could easily be a bucket-list golf destination.

But Richard M. Schultze, the founder of Best Buy and the owner of what has been rebranded as the Aurora Anguilla Resort, is looking to change that, putting golf at the center of the property. 

The Norman track has been updated, while a nine-hole “signature short course” was added, and the club has completely transformed its clubhouse. 

And it doesn’t hurt that Anguilla is now accessible via nonstop flights from Miami on American Airlines.

Now, management company Salamander Hotels and Resorts, a company known for its top-level golf resorts, is planning a grand opening of the Aurora International Golf Club. 

The ceremony will be held from Nov. 10-13, showcasing the new-look club, with daily rounds go fold, evening events with live music and appearances by former PGA Tour player Charlie Rymer and World Long Drive champion Dan Boever. 

For more, visit Aurora. 

The post In Anguilla, a New Caribbean Golf Destination  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

Hyatt’s Dreams brand is opening another new all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic’s tourism capital, Punta Cana. 

The new Dreams Flora Resort and Spa is slated to open its doors in December 2022, according to parent company Hyatt. 

It’s the sixth Dreams-branded resort in Punta Cana alone.

The opening is yet another boost for what remains the most popular destination in the wider Caribbean by volume, with the Dominican Republic continuing to break its all-time records just about every month.

The resort, set in the Cabeza de Toro area of Greater Punta Cana, will feature a total of 520 rooms, each with a private terrace or balcony. 

Room categories include the option for Dreams’ Preferred Club, along with a healthy dose of junior swim-up suites. 

The Dreams Flora will feature eight dining concepts, along with six bars and lounges with “unlimited top-shelf spirits and beverages,” according to the company. 

That will include the Barefoot Grill, the Coco Cafe, the Asian-inspired Himitsu; the seafood-focused Oceana; the Mexican-focused El Patio; Italian eatery Portfino; a show-cooking grill restaurant called Seaside; and the World Cafe international buffet. 

The family-friendly resort will have four pools, including a kids pool. 

True to the brand, the resort will also have a Dreams Spa by Pevonia, including oceanfront palapa massage cabins and a hydrotherapy area. 

It’s the second Dreams resort to open this year, joining the just-debuted Dreams Cozumel Cape Resort and Spa in Mexico, which launched in mid-September, part of a rapidly-growing development pipeline by ALG.

The Dreams brand is part of Apple Leisure Group’s AMR Collection; Apple Leisure Group was acquired by Hyatt last year. 

Dreams is also part of Hyatt’s new “Inclusive Collection,” which includes a growing portfolio of all-inclusives across the wider Caribbean and Mexico. 

For more, visit Dreams Flora Resort and Spa Punta Cana. 

The post Dreams Is Adding Another All-Inclusive Resort in Punta Cana  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

At the next table, one visitor bemoaned his situation to another. 

“I wanted to stay here but they were full,” he said. “So I had to stay at La Samanna.”

There’s perhaps no better distillation of the allure — and quality — of the Grand Case Beach Club in St Martin, a 71-room beach hotel that has developed a cult following among lovers of the Caribbean, many of whom would readily choose it over far more expensive luxury resorts. 

There’s just something magnetic about this place, home to two sparkling white-sand beaches at the end of Grand Case Boulevard.

Much of it has to do with Stephen Wright, the resort’s longtime general manager, who honed his craft at some of the world’s greatest luxury resorts and took his magnanimous, kind-hearted hospitality to Grand Case. 

It’s a simple formula here: sleek, crisply-appointed residential-style rooms (filled with local art master Sir Roland Richardson’s paintings); a prime perch right at the edge of two beaches; a stunning rooftop pool in view of Anguilla and the Creole Rock; and an endlessly warm staff, all of whom readily share Wright’s guest-first focus. 

And the there’s the on-site Sunset Cafe, one of Grand Case’s best restaurants, which serves three meals each day in an elevated location where you feel like you’re floating above the water. 

Indeed, Grand Case’s unrivaled culinary scene, just a short stroll away, is among the major draws: in-the-know travelers have long made a beeline for Grand Case and its almost dizzying array of Michelin-quality eateries, the greatest concentration of fine-dining restaurants in one place anywhere in the Caribbean. 

And it all adds up to a lovely, easy-to-repeat daily routine: oceanside breakfast and coffee at Sunset; hours bobbing in the sea and lounging on beach chairs, with either a lunch or dinner in Grand Case, with the odd excursion to Orient Bay or Marigot or Pinel Island thrown in. 

It’s the essence of what we’re all looking for in a Caribbean vacation: a charming, pretty hotel; friendly service; authentic food; and beautiful beaches. 

It’s simple, really. But nobody does it better. 

Because if you love the Caribbean, this is precisely your kind of hotel. 

For more, visit the Grand Case Beach Club.

The post This Is the Best Beach Resort in St Martin  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico